Why aren't we developing the next generation of leaders? Tips for training by providing them with a "big picture of the job."

My name is Sakon, and I'm involved in regional revitalization projects.

The content required for a regional revitalization project varies greatly depending on the specific circumstances of each region.
I think it's a good workplace for young people to gain diverse experiences.

However, even with talented young people, it takes time before you feel confident that you can entrust them with the next generation.
While you might be entrusted with your daily tasks, being in charge of an entire project is a slightly different story.
Many people probably struggle with the question of "how to raise the next generation."

 

To prevent young people from becoming "only capable of doing that"

I myself have been raising concerns within the company for some time now about the situation where younger employees are only responsible for a small part of a project.

Sales work at Nomura Co., Ltd. involves several phases, including sales promotion, quotations, design, coordination and ordering with construction companies, on-site support, and operational support. The larger the project, the more likely roles are to be divided, and it's becoming more common for younger employees to be responsible for only a part of the process.

As a result, even if you can complete your assigned tasks, you may end up proceeding without understanding "why you are doing this work within the bigger picture."
You are, so to speak, "a part of the gears." Conversely, if you can see the whole picture, you will understand where your work connects to, and it will be easier to focus on what the customer wants and make decisions accordingly.

 

The process of raising and growing.

In order to develop judgment skills, I believe the most important thing is "experience."
However, this doesn't mean working long hours or repeating the same tasks over and over.

I go to the site. I talk to the customer. I do the work. And I think through each and every one of those steps.
By accumulating such experiences in short cycles, the quality of your work improves, and you develop the ability to see the bigger picture.

In reality, you rarely encounter a project where there's a single, predetermined answer to how to do things. That's why I believe it's important not to simply hand over the "correct answer based on experience" to younger employees from the start, but rather to encourage them to think for themselves and sometimes take detours.

It's natural, in a sense, that different supervisors have different ways of working and thinking. Their work experience and the clients they've dealt with will naturally lead to different decision-making processes.
Younger employees might feel confused, thinking, "Everyone's saying something different. So what's the right answer?"

But instead of trying to find just one right answer, I hope you'll be exposed to a variety of different perspectives.

"I can agree with this person's way of thinking," or "I had doubts before, but when I actually tried it, it was true," they say, comparing it to their own experiences and incorporating the good points.
That's how you gradually develop your own work style. That's how I learned myself.

 

What I want you to think about is, "What would I do in this situation?"

The easiest way to help someone understand the overall picture of the work is to have them look at the project from start to finish together with their supervisor.
We will run alongside you through each phase, allowing you to closely observe what leaders and managers are looking at and how they are making decisions.

However, simply following around as a so-called "bag carrier" is not enough. In conversations with clients, we sometimes ask questions like, "How would you answer this?" or "How would you act to make this aspect of the client's business a success?"
After listening to their thoughts, I offer my own perspective based on my experience, saying, "This is what I would do." The goal isn't about right or wrong answers, but rather to encourage them to develop the habit of thinking for themselves through this back-and-forth exchange of judgments.
In fact, Nomura Co., Ltd. is also working on training programs to put this into practice. We are consciously trying to involve our employees in many processes, not just a part of a project.

 

Things to reconsider when the next generation isn't developing

When we feel that the next generation isn't developing, we need to reflect not only on the qualities of the younger generation, but also on "what kind of experiences we are passing on to them."

Do you have the opportunity to see the project as a whole? Do you have the opportunity to think about and decide "what would I do?"
Through such repeated dialogues, you'll begin to see people with whom you can communicate in a common language and who share the same perspective—people you'd like to entrust the next project to.